apart.” I did as she said, and once the cage stopped, I felt more secure. “Now dance.” She moved closer to me. “Dance like you did down there.” She tilted her head down to the dancefloor and I moved my gaze there too, seeing Sage and Storm staring up at me. Sage lifted her hands in the air, a huge grin on her face, and that was all I needed to let go.
The beats to the music filtered back into my brain and I reached out, planting my hands on her jean covered hips. Her crop top showed a sliver of her stomach and I became fascinated with the tattoo that wrapped around her side. I wanted to know what it was and why she had it. I wanted the story behind it.
Her front meshed with mine, her face only centimeters away. I stared into her gray eyes, and in that moment, I knew fate had dealt this blow.
Never Before
Haven
I’d never asked anyone to come into my cage with me. The other dancers did almost every night, but I didn’t. My cage was my safe haven, the one place I could let go and not have a care in the world.
But when I saw her on that dancefloor, I knew I had to get her in here with me.
There was something about the way her head flung back, her body swaying as she felt the music deep down in her soul. The way she went into her own world, not acknowledging anyone around her.
And now she was inches away from me, sweat dripping down her face from how hard she was dancing. Her chest heaved, her white top sticking to her skin, and I couldn’t help but reach out to her.
Her gaze met mine, her brown eyes captivating and alluring. “What’s your name?” I shouted, hoping she could hear me.
She leaned forward, the end of her braid hitting her collarbone. “Thalia.” She paused. “What’s yours?”
“Haven.”
She pulled back just enough to look at my face. My stomach dipped just like it did when I was on a rollercoaster at the local theme park. Her gaze flicked down to my lips. I didn’t hesitate. I closed the distance between us, leaving only a couple of centimeters.
“Haven,” she said, rolling my name over her tongue. I loved the way it sounded coming out of her mouth, and from the way her lips pulled up, she did too.
“Thalia,” I whispered, not sure if she could hear me over the music.
She shut her eyes and it felt like a lifetime until she finally closed the distance. Our bodies fused together at the same second our lips connected. Soft and slow, closed mouth. It wasn’t enough. Not for me. So, I trailed my tongue over the seam of her lips, praying to god that she’d open up and not want to run away.
Time suspended, threatening to pull down everything we had inside this cage. Then finally, she opened up, pushing harder against me. Our tongues danced together, just like our bodies did. We were in sync, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew it had never felt like this before.
I pushed my fingers through hers, interlocking both of our hands. I felt a deep need to be as close to her as possible, yet, I didn’t even know her. But it felt like I did. It felt like our souls had been separated and were now rejoicing at being together once again.
“Let’s hit it hard for the last song of the night!” the DJ screamed down the mic. At the sound of his voice, I started to pull away, but Thalia followed me. She didn’t want this to end, and neither did I.
I pulled back, blinking at her, and trying to regain my focus. “Stay for a drink after we close?”
Thalia looked down, seeing the club full of people going crazy on the dance floor, mixed in with drunks who had gone hard because of it being Friday night.
She bit down on her bottom lip and I nearly groaned at the action. I wished I was the one biting down on it.
“Okay.” She nodded, like she was telling herself something. Her gaze clashed with mine again and she repeated, “Okay.”
I grinned and reached for the controls to the cage. It was way too quick for us to make it back onto the dancefloor, and by the time I’d gotten the door open, people were leaving in crowds, trying to all get out of